England cricket team's star opener Zak Crawley has been ruled out of the India vs England first two Tests after sustaining a wrist injury. Crawley, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Wednesday, got injured the same day after slipping on the marble floor in the dressing room at Chepauk Stadium.
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The four-match Test series between India and England is scheduled to start from February 5. The first two matches of the series will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) in Chennai. After this, the remaining two Test matches will be played at Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.
"After receiving the results of last night's scan, Zak Crawley has been ruled out of the first two tests," the ECB said in a media release. "The scan confirmed that he has an injury to his wrist and the England medical team will monitor it over the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, England's star middle order batsman Oli Pope has been included in the team on Wednesday after the completion of his quarantine period before the first Test against India.
The 23-year-old had suffered an injury while fielding during the last Test against Pakistan in August last year. Pope has now fully recovered after getting his shoulder dislocated and intends to make a mega comeback in the upcoming Ind vs Eng Test series.
England team for first Test against India: Joe Root Captain, Daniel Lawrence, Dominic Sibley, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Rory Burns, Joe Butler (wicketkeeper), Ben Fox, Joffra Archer, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Dom Bess , Jack Leach, Ollie Stones, Ollie Pope.